Author straddles familiar, fantastic

Richelle Mead, 36, is the author of 20 urban fantasy books for teens and adults, including the best-selling “Vampire Academy” and “Bloodlines” series. Her newest, “Gameboard of the Gods,” is set 100 years into the future, after a virus has wiped out half the world’s population.

When she’s not spinning stories, the Seattle writer sometimes indulges in bad reality TV and ‘80s music. She’ll be at Mysterious Galaxy on June 6 at 7 p.m. She answered questions by phone.

Q: Did you grow up reading science fiction and fantasy novels?

A: Definitely. I credit or blame, depending on how you look at it, my brothers, who are about 10 years older. They would often baby-sit me in the form of sitting me down in front of Star Wars or Flash Gordon, things like that. From there, I went on to books and other interests.

Q: When did you know that you wanted to be a writer yourself?

A: I was writing from a very early age. In elementary school I would make my own picture books and stories. It was something I kind of played around with for most of my life in some form. It wasn’t until about my late 20s that I think I finally had the discipline to really sit down and conceive an entire novel that worked.

Q: The new book launches another series for you. How do you know when it’s time to start something new?

A: When the previous contract ends. (She laughed.) No, when I set down to write a book and a series, I usually know the endpoint. I sit down and say here’s my big, overarching story, it’s going to take this many books to tell. I have to think in large terms like that. I can’t just sort of go on into infinity without really knowing the ending of a series. I think a story works better if you know what you are building up to.

Q: “Gameboard” takes place 100 years from now. What does the futuristic setting enable you to do as a storyteller?

A: You can play around with a lot of different things. A hundred years is nice because you can still hold on to some things that are familiar looking from our own time, as opposed to 5,000 years — I don’t even think we’d recognize the human race at that point. So there is some shared stuff you can do, but you can go crazy with the technology, too. Look at just what we’ve done in 10 years with cell phones alone. It’s fantasy, a different kind of magic that you can put in, which is fun. I like to kind of straddle the familiar and the fantastic in my books.

Q: One of the themes you are exploring here is the role of religion in society. Why was that something you wanted to write about?

A: I think an interest in religion goes back to that fantasy background which fed into a big love of mythology and folklore. One of my master’s degrees is actually in comparative religion. All the belief systems out there and how they impact us have always been fascinating to me.

The premise in this book is that religion has been blamed for a number of catastrophes in this futuristic world. So where the book is set, religion is generally looked down upon. People don’t practice religion. If you want to do it you have to be licensed by the government to prove you aren’t a threat to the state.

Q: You kind of flipped that upside down — religion is very much an accepted part of our society right now.

A: As a writer you always want to put different concepts out there. As the book goes on — I don’t want to give too much away, but you do see that religion and the supernatural don’t stay away. People have a tendency to start gravitating back toward that. So even though it does ostensibly seem as though religion is this off-limits thing, I think ultimately what the book’s cycling back to is it is something that is inextricably tied to us.

Q: Many of your female characters are strong, physically and otherwise. Why is it important to you that they be that way?

A: In all my series, technically I have five, and they all have female leads and they’re all strong in some way. I guess three of them are the very physical, butt-kicking type. The others are very mentally strong. They’re thinkers. They outwit. People ask what made me want to have a strong heroine and for me I’m not sure how not to. I can’t imagine writing a book with a character I don’t want to rally behind, who can’t defend herself either with her fists or with her mind.

Q: You’re probably best known for your vampire books. Why do you think paranormal stories are popular?

A: That’s the million dollar question and I still don’t have a good answer for that. I think a lot of these stories that are so popular right now, it’s not just the paranormal element that is reaching out to people. They are very character driven and people get interested in the characters and the stories and it just so happens there are vampires.

But of course the paranormal has its appeal, and it always has. It’s not a new thing. You can go back to Bram Stoker and Bela Lugosi. People love it because they love escapism. When you give them the chance to take a break from everyday life and get really hooked into these characters, that’s what’s causing this, I believe.

Q: Speaking of escapism — what do you like about reality TV?

A: I think it’s just nice sometimes to watch something unscripted for a while. Let your brain take a break from constant plotting and maneuvering and thinking. That’s as pure as it gets sometimes, some of those shows, particularly the bad ones.

Q: And your fascination with ‘80s music?

A: Well, I grew up in the ‘80s and it leaves that imprint in you, I guess.

Q: Do you listen to music while you write?

A: I don’t, actually. I feel like I’m one of the few authors who doesn’t listen to music. I see these authors who put out these great playlists that they’ve compiled for writing their books but for me it’s distracting. I want a quiet space for just my own words while I work.